The Impact of Confinement on Children in Spain — Look Beyond Resilience Versus Trauma.

My children, Savi (4) and Eloy (1), along with eight million across Spain, have been confined to their home since the 14th of March as part of what is considered to be ‘Europe’s strictest lockdown.’ Sunday was their first trip out in six long weeks.

For me, as a relative newcomer, these weeks have been insightful. Coronavirus has achieved the rapid stripping of superficial impressions and laid bare the social dynamics and relationships that underpin life here. From the way children are perceived to the country’s relationship with welfare, government decisions, both central and regional, have been telling.

As I believe is the case everywhere, lockdown policies have needed to be socially and culturally relative, taking into consideration amongst other things, population density and housing norms. Arguably, Spain opted for harsher distancing measures due to intergenerational and extended social networks that are broader and more intimate than experienced in other parts of Europe. These measures are also likely to reflect the relationship between state and citizen and the degree of trust it enjoys. Unlike Sweden who asked politely and trusted its citizens to follow suit, Spain decreed and issued hefty fines. Where schools in Denmark have returned to a semblance of normality…